Page 87 - All About History 48 - 2017 UK
P. 87
Bluffer’s Guide
THE YOUNG TURK REVOLUTION
What was it?
The Young Turks weren’t one political party. As their
rather vague name suggests, it was a loose alliance of
several different organisations that arose around the turn
of the 20th century. The Ottoman sultan, Abdul Hamid II,
had started out as a moderniser, and introduced the first
democratic constitution in the Islamic world. However,
within two years, he had returned his empire to absolute
dictatorship. The bureaucratic and educated classes were
concerned that economic and political manoeuvring
from the British, Russian and French could break up the
Ottoman Empire, and only a strong constitution could
save it. In 1891, a group of radical student exiles formed
the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) in Paris. They
studied previous successful revolutions and allied with
other disaffected Ottoman groups.
The Ottoman army in particular was being kept
deliberately underfunded by Abdul Hamid, who preferred
controlling the country with his network of spies. In July
1908, Major Ahmed Niyazi, fearing the sultan would
discover his political views, launched a pre-emptive revolt.
Within three weeks, the constitution was restored.
What were the
consequences?
Once they had gained power, the Young Turks had
no clear plan for running the country. In 1909, there
was a counter-coup (known as the ‘31 March Incident’)
by the rank and file soldiers, over pay and the increasing
secularisation of the country. This was eventually
suppressed, but foreign European powers recognised the
weakness of the new state and used these upheavals as
pretext for military incursions. In quick succession, Austria-
Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria
declared independence, and Italy occupied Tripoli in Libya.
Then in 1912-13, the two Balkan Wars resulted in the loss
of almost all of the rest of the empire. When Britain and
France refused to come to its defence, the Ottomans sided
with Germany during World War I, which resulted in the
partitioning of the Ottoman Empire at the Treaty of Sèvres.
The Young Turks had overthrown their dictator to preserve
their empire but instead had brought about its dissolution.
Who was involved?
Abdul Hamid II
1842-1918
The 34th Ottoman sultan introduced the
empire’s first democratic constitution in 1876,
but two years later reinstated his dictatorship.
Ahmed Niyazi Bey
1873-1913
A senior captain in the Third Ottoman Army,
3 JULY 1908 23 JULY 1908
he mutinied with 200 officers and civilians,
sparking off the Young Turk revolution.
Major Ahmed Niyazi In the face of
of the Third Army overwhelming popular
Corps leads a revolt support for the Ahmed Riza Bey
against the provincial revolution among the 1859-1930
authorities in Resen, army and populace, A prominent member of the Young Turk
Macedonia. The Abdul Hamid agrees
uprising spreads rapidly to recall parliament and movement, he became president of the © Look and Learn
around the empire. restore the constitution. Chamber of Deputies after the revolution.
87
